Nighttime Phone Calls
by TML9115
Summary: Strauss goes out of her way to keep Hotch and Emily apart, so what do they do when they're kept at opposite ends of the country?


I wrote this a long long time ago, I just never posted it…It was prompted by a prompt on CCOAC so I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you Katie for the title…you are awesome!

**Nighttime Phone Calls**

"Hey" she whispered eyeing the agent in the next bed.

"Hey" he repeated. He'd been worried about her all day. Strauss had managed to separate the team. As hard as they'd tried, he and Rossi had not been able to stop her. She'd given them 30 minutes to board the plane and fly to opposite sides of the country.

"Emily."

"I'm fine Aaron." She sighed. This sucked. Strauss had managed to keep them separated for the better part of the past two weeks.

"I can't sleep. I miss you." She told him after a short pause.

"I miss you too." She could hear the smile in his voice. "Are you close to getting your guy?" He hoped she'd say yes and would be heading back to Quantico soon.

"I thought I already had him? Should I keep looking?" She teased. A warm flutter filled her when she heard him chuckle.

"You better not be looking for your other half. That position is filled. I'm a jealous man Agent Prentiss. I'd hate to have to hurt someone."

She laughed and quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. Looking over at JJ she sighed in relief when the woman didn't move. "Don't you worry your little self. I only have room for two men in my life and as you put it both positions are filled."

"That's what I like to hear. You should go to bed its late." He was three hours behind.

"Same time tomorrow?" She looked forward to their nightly talks. It was the only way they knew Strauss couldn't get them.

"Same time. Good luck with your guy. I love you." He hated not being able to tell her to her face. How long had it been since he'd spent more then two hours uninterrupted with her… Strauss was on a witch hunt and he and Emily were the witches.

"I love you too." She hung up and finally went to bed.

"How was your day?" He sounded tired. Emily knew she didn't sound any better though.

"We're close. Hopefully another day. JJ's been a big help, she really should consider taking the classes to becoming a profiler and Morgan's being Morgan. He's itching to tackle this guy when we find him." She finished in a chuckle. Any man that went after poor defenseless old ladies deserved to be tackled if not worse. "How about you are you close to getting him?"

"I'm not surprised as far as Morgan goes. I've tried to talk JJ into taking the classes but she refuses. She likes her role with the team. Reid actually thinks our killer is a woman. We've narrowed our suspect list to half of Seattle."

She could imagine him scowling at having such a large suspect pool. "Oh good so you'll be home in time for dinner." She stifled a yawn.

"I wish. Go to bed Emily. You're tired."

"No I'm not… I'm wide awake." He could hear her trying not to yawn again.

"I'm sure you are sweetheart. Sweet dreams."

"You too."

"Everything okay? I tried to reach you earlier but your phone kept going to voicemail." Oh boy. She could hear the worry in his voice. She took a deep breath in preparation.

"Everything's fine. We got our UNSUB and we'll be flying out tomorrow afternoon." She hoped that he'd just accept her answer and be happy that she would be returning the following day.

"Why the afternoon? Is the jet not available first thing in the morning? There's no sense in keeping you there another half a day."

Before she could respond Hotch heard another voice in the room. "Agent Prentiss you need to get some rest if you want the doctor to sign off on your discharge to fly with your team tomorrow."

Emily cursed under her breath. She knew he'd heard the nurse. Placing the phone between her shoulder and cheek she held up both hands and mouthed 'just ten more minutes' with a disapproving nod the nurse left.

"Emily why are you in the hospital? What happened? Why didn't you call me?" Hotch sat up in his bed worried. He was definitely glad he'd be on his way home tomorrow. He needed to see her now more than ever.

"It was nothing Aaron. The UNSUB surprised us. I took a hit to the head." Again. She thought. She was probably worse off than most boxers when it came to getting knocked on the head.

"You should have called me?" His voice was stern. She knew he was worried.

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't want you to worry. I promise its nothing. The doctor just wanted to keep me here for observation. It was that or I scheduled an appointment with one of the regular doctors later in the afternoon."

"You were knocked unconscious weren't you?" He knew the answer. It was the only reason any doctor would keep someone over night. Her silence confirmed his suspicion.

"Aaron please don't be mad at me." It'd been a long two weeks. The past three days had dragged on and her emotions were running high.

"I'm not mad. I'm just worried." He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "You should get some sleep."

"Will you stay on the line with me until I fall asleep?" She wasn't ready to end the call just yet.

"Of course."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

JJ walked into the hospital room the next morning to find Emily still asleep with the phone placed between her cheek and the pillow. She smiled. "Dave if you could only see what I'm seeing right now."

"I was just going to tell you the same thing. Hold on." While Dave had her on hold JJ quickly snapped a photo of Emily and sent it to him. She looked down at her phone when a text message arrived from Dave. She covered her mouth to keep from laughing. Aaron Hotchner was fast asleep in the same way as Emily, phone tucked in his hand held close to his ear.

"Did you know they talked on the phone every night before going to bed?" She couldn't believe she'd just found out. How had she not heard her friend before?

"I had no idea. It's about damn time."

AN: That's it… I hope you enjoyed it… I know I enjoyed writing it.


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